About

WHAT’S THE STORY?

Cat Skin is a coming of age drama with a twist of suspense

The film tells the story of Cat and April. Cat is a photography student at her local college in Brighton. The recent death of her father and her mother’s deteriorating state of health has left Cat to take care of herself. She is an intelligent yet introverted individual considered by many to be a social outcast, remaining on the fringe of the usual social college life. April, a music student at her college, captures her attention and Cat becomes infatuated with her classmate . April is a confident, outgoing girl, extremely popular and attractive. However, there is more to her than meets the eye. April's overprotective mother keeps her on a tight leash whilst her jealous boyfriend grows more possessive. Cat is willing to pursue April, by any means. She captures April from afar on film, but the distances between the pair reduces. Cat and April soon fall into each others lives and develop a close friendship which will be tested to its utmost limit.

Costume Design by Marja-Lisa Hedenquist

WHAT IS IT ABOUT?

Cat Skin is a very personal story. It centres on self-discovery and acceptance, as well as, desiring the seemingly impossible and to never let go of your dreams. It draws its emotions from personal experiences accumulated over the years. The film delves into despair, and the hope of finding the one person, the closest of friends that will help you come to terms with it. The film aims to blur the boundaries of friendship and relationship and to ultimately define a love that transcends gender.

HOW DID THIS ALL START?

It all started about 4 years ago with a simple drawing of the character Cat. She wore a pair of headphones around her neck and clutched a stills camera. The sketch hung on my wall for several weeks. Eventually, a second character joined her - this was April wearing a green cardigan over a white dress, and from these two sketches hung side-by-side the story grew.

Costume Design by Marja-Lisa Hedenquiest

What followed was a short film, which we completed in 2010.

You can view the short trailer here:

HOW WILL THE FULL LENGTH FILM BE DIFFERENT?

I am very proud of the short film. Considering it was made on a shoe string budget and shot over a long weekend it is one my favourite pieces of work and it was a fantastic experience making it. I’ve made several films since, but there’s always been a longing to return to Cat and April and not to expand but to complete their story. The original short film only told one part of a much larger story and thus feels incomplete. I cannot lay these characters to rest just yet. However, I fully intend to treat the feature length version as a new project. In order to keep things fresh, the visual style will have a much darker tone, the characters have been revised and will be re-cast to suit the full story.

Storyboards by Marga Doek

MEET THE TEAM

DANIEL GRASSKAMP - WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER

I studied Film Production in the UK at the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham and graduated in 2009 at the age of 22. I specialized in Directing and completed projects shot on Super8, 16mm and Full HD. After graduating with Honours I produced and directed the short film Cat Skin, which kickstarted my professional career. Since then I've worked in the TV and Corporate industry as a video editor and camera operator for multiple international companies whilst continuing to direct fictional short films. I have extensive experience using Industry leading equipment such as the RED Epic camera and high end post-production software (Avid Media Composer, Adobe After Effects and DaVinci Resolve) allowing for an excellent technical understanding of image quality.

Here's a short showreel of my work.

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However, technical expertise isn't everything. Story and character are what matter most to me. Throughout the films I've made there's an underlying thread of interest I have with duration, also known as the long take. This was explored in the short film version of Cat Skin. This shooting preference refrains from over editing and allows a shot to linger on a character. This enables the viewer to experience the scene captured in real time, to share that moment with the character as they battle their thoughts and feelings. This is a great visual style to really engage the audience with the characters that drive the story.

Discussing the scene

JONI JUUTILAINEN - DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Joni is the Director of Photography on Cat Skin. He has been working his way up within the camera department since 2002. He is one of the founders of the Finnish company OTSO Film and works as a freelance Cinematographer. I've worked with Joni on numerous projects over the years including the original short film Cat Skin. We have developed a strong working relationship. It is an absolute joy to have him back on the team for this project.

MARJA-LISA HEDENQUIST - PRODUCTION DESIGN

Marja-Lisa is a set, costume designer and maker with a 1st class honours degree in Costume with Performance Design from the Arts University in Bournemouth. She has experience in designing sets and costumes (and making/building) working in Sweden and in England. In 2011 she did costumes for The Perfect Day, a short film which won The Best Student Film Award at The New York International Film Festival. She is very excited to be a part of the wonderful world of Cat Skin!

"With the designs, I want to convey the two protagonists' different backgrounds and personalities. Ultimately this contrast will show how love transcends class, appearance, cultural background and gender." Marja-Lisa

LIZZIE HINGLEY - SET DECORATOR

Lizzie has been working in props since completing a Degree in Critical Fine Art Practice in 2010 at the University of Brighton. She started working for companies based in London making props. She recently opened her own prop making company based in Brighton called Brighton Props. Lizzie was drawn to prop making as she enjoys solving problems with a creative eye and the diverse hands on nature that comes with the job - with lots of different exciting challenges.

"I am looking to really bring the characters to life - each persons identity within the film is so unique. I am really excited to be involved in this project and can't wait to begin using props to sculpt each personality to give them a real history and back story." Lizzie

SIAN REVILL - MAKEUP ARTIST

Siân first began studying makeup artistry in 2009, since then she has worked in all aspects of the makeup industry from Film to Fashion. She is currently studying in Los Angeles at Cinema Makeup School to further her skills. Her recent credits include; The 65th Primetime Emmys and Britney Spears' latest video.

"I am aiming to show the major differences between the characters with their makeup. Makeup can help to convey the journey that a character has been on, a lot of my makeup designs will be focusing on this due to the emotional journey that happens through the course of the film. I aim for the actor to feel that they are truly the character by the time they leave my makeup chair." Sian

SOUNDS GREAT! HOW DO I GET INVOLVED?

You can pledge any amount from as little as £1 in return for a reward. Every little bit helps! Spread the word. Tell your friends, family and even your neighbour about the project. Encourage them to get involved. Share a link to this page on your Twitter and Facebook accounts. The more people we reach, the greater the chances are that the film gets made! Please remember that this is a all or nothing campaign. Your card will not be debited until we reach our goal. If we don't reach our goal we won't receive any of your pledges and everyone will be very sad.

Follow me on Twitter and Facebook and share your thoughts and ideas! facebook.com/filmsbydanielgrasskamp @DanielGrasskamp

Most importantly, participate in the campaign in every way you feel you can.

WHAT DO I GET IN RETURN FOR MY PLEDGE?

Besides a huge thank you from everyone involved and in knowing you played a part in getting a film project off the ground, there are also some great rewards in exchange for every pledge ranging from as little as £1. Get a copy of the final film, have lunch with me and the two stars of our film or join us for an advance screening at a very special venue. There are many to choose from and every single pledge will go directly into making the film. See the full list on the top right of this page.

HOW WILL MY PLEDGE BE USED?

Our core team of incredibly talented and professional individuals are passionate about the project and are more than willing to waive their fee and donate their time.

However, when making a film, things can quickly become very expensive. Our funding goal is £15,000. This is the minimum to get the film off the ground. We have planned for an 18 day shoot and your pledge will cover everything from location hire, kit rental, transportation, accommodation for cast and crew, along with many unforeseen costs that might accumulate during production. Therefore we have included a 10% contingency plan within the our overall goal accounting for any unforeseen additional costs.

To demonstrate this better, we have created a simple budget breakdown for "Cat Skin".

HOW DO I PLEDGE?

If you've read this far you must be interested in becoming one of our backers. It's easy, simply click the big green button to the right of our video at the top of the page. Then you're pretty much there. Kickstarter will ask you to confirm your pledge and the award type followed by a quick prompt to sign in. Signing up is quick; you can even do it through Facebook.

HOW CAN I GET IN TOUCH?

Either at info@danielgrasskamp.co.uk, the Kickstarter comments, or via my Twitter and Facebook page.

If you have any questions or suggestions for rewards that you would like, please just leave a comment.

RECENT PRESS

DIVA Magazine - "HELP GET INDIE BRIT-FLICK CAT SKIN MADE" http://www.divamag.co.uk/category/arts-entertainment/help-get-indie-brit-flick-cat-skin-made.aspx SomethingYouSaid.com -

Somethingyousaid -"KICK START THE CAT SKIN FILM PROJECT" http://somethingyousaid.com/2013/10/12/kick-start-the-cat-skin-film-project/

RadioReverb 97.2FM - 30th October 2013 (interview starts 5 minutes in)